Megan Coyle: Collage Artist

Lipstick Lizard

noreply@blogger.com (Megan Coyle) — Tue, 29 May 2012 04:42:00 +0000

"Lipstick Lizard"
Collage on paper
12"x16"

And the collage is finished! The lizard that inspired this collage lives at the National Zoo, and I noticed that its skin was a little pink around its lips. Thus the way it looked inspired the title.

And now I'm off to work on a turtle piece. The photos will be posted shortly.

Progress Picture #1: Lipstick Lizard

noreply@blogger.com (Megan Coyle) — Sun, 27 May 2012 20:55:00 +0000

This piece is inspired by one of the lizards that lives in the National Zoo. Once I start collaging down magazine strips, you'll have a better idea why I felt like the title "Lipstick Lizard" fitted this particular critter.

Anyway, I'm off to finish a few details for a couple of upcoming shows. And I hope everyone is having a fantastic weekend!

The Jellyfish Club

noreply@blogger.com (Megan Coyle) — Fri, 25 May 2012 00:08:00 +0000

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"The Jellyfish Club"
Collage on paper
18"x24"

And it's done...for now. I might revisit this one in the next few weeks. But in the meantime, I need to move forward and complete the rest of the critter collages in time for my July and August exhibits. Busy, busy!

Progress Picture #1: The Jellyfish Club

noreply@blogger.com (Megan Coyle) — Tue, 22 May 2012 04:12:00 +0000

This is the sketch for one of the more abstract critter collages that I recently completed. I'll post the finished image shortly. I'm getting close to finishing the new work for my upcoming animal exhibits, and up next will be a series of landscape/cityscape pieces for a show at the beginning of next year. It's never too early to begin work for an upcoming show...especially with all the planning involved. Whew! It's going to be a busy next couple of months.

Bosty goes to San Diego

noreply@blogger.com (Megan Coyle) — Fri, 18 May 2012 22:45:00 +0000

Bosty hasn't been traveling much these days. He's been hibernating because of the cold weather but now that it's spring, he doesn't have any more excuses. So he headed west to wander around San Diego, CA.

He was a little sad that he was too early for Comic-Con at the convention center. Better luck next year...But he did like the way the building looked at night.

Since he couldn't spend the next day reading comic books, he headed over to San Diego Zoo to catch some sunlight. He thought this sign was very misleading - "I didn't even see one hippo lifeguard!"

He got to see lots of colorful flamingos.

And a peacock that got loose on the grounds (Bosty later complained that my picture of the peacock cropped him out too much. He's such a critic).

He thought about joining the panda for lunch, but didn't think bamboo would fill him up enough.

Although it seemed like the birdies had quite a feast of...well, he wasn't quite sure what they were eating. So he gave in and stopped by one of the zoo's cafes for a snack.

Later, he wanted his picture taken in front of a warthog so he could look all the more handsome.

And he liked comparing his pointy ears to the hyena's.

After San Diego, he decided to drive to the countryside to see all the modern-looking windmills.

The fields weren't too bad either.

Then it was back to San Diego to relax by the water and watch people fly kites in the park before heading home.

Toucan

noreply@blogger.com (Megan Coyle) — Wed, 16 May 2012 03:31:00 +0000

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"Toucan"
Collage on paper
9"x12"

So the finished composition turned out a bit simpler than an earlier toucan collage that I completed a couple years ago. I seem to do quite a few bird collages. I think it's because different bird species can be really colorful and are thus more interesting to use as subjects in my work. Anyway, I'm off to get started on a new lemur piece...

Progress Picture #1: Toucan

noreply@blogger.com (Megan Coyle) — Thu, 10 May 2012 02:00:00 +0000

Another day, another sketch. I'll post the completed image of this one next. I'm having a lot of fun working on all these animal collages. I must say, animals are one of my favorite subjects to collage. There's so many colorful and exciting species out there. I'm about to visit a different zoo (and by different, I mean not the National Zoo), so I hope to gather a lot more inspiration for future animal pieces. I hope everyone's week is going well!

Collage in the Classroom: Venezuela

noreply@blogger.com (Megan Coyle) — Sun, 06 May 2012 15:08:00 +0000

A few months ago I received emails from several students who attend the British School in Caracas, Venezuela. The students were assigned to do a project on my work. This included writing a biography on my life, analyzing three of my collages, and then making three collages - one of which had to be a copy of one of my pieces, while the other two were their own creation that used my collage technique.

In April, several of the students' collages - that copied my work or were inspired by my technique - were published in The Enrichment Circle. The Enrichment Circle is a publication that prints stories and artwork by students from around the world. The collages appeared in a spread in The Circle Gazette which is pictured above and below.

It was great getting to see what the students did after exchanging emails with several of them about the project.

Here are my original collages alongside the students' copies:

It was pretty impressive how close the students were able to get to the originals - especially with collage, which is such a hard medium to copy since you can never recreate the exact textures and fragments of photographs used. But I must say, they got pretty close!

All in all, it was fun getting to see their work. One of the things I enjoy most about being an artist is being able to inspire others. And it makes my day every time I hear from students and teachers that are using my collages in their classroom.

Watchful Lion

noreply@blogger.com (Megan Coyle) — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 19:19:00 +0000

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"Watchful Lion"
Collage on paper
16"x12"

Here's the finished lion - you can see I added a lot of texture to his mane and reshaped his face a bit. He was inspired by another trip to the National Zoo. I'm lucky to live so close to the Smithsonian museums/zoo - I can always find something there that inspires me for future works of art. I should probably swing by some of the museums sometime soon - I have a tendency of spending most of my time at the National Zoo when places like the Natural History Museum also have a variety of exhibits that are useful references for animal collages. Anyway, I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend! I'm off to enjoy the sunshine!

Progress Picture #2: Watchful Lion

noreply@blogger.com (Megan Coyle) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 00:34:00 +0000

The next stage of the lion piece. I'll post the finished image soon. I ended up having to reshape his face slightly since the eye is a little too high up. And I had a lot of fun adding texture to his mane. I find that my favorite parts of collages are the ones where I can incorporate lots of bits and pieces of texture. Makes the whole process more interesting since you can find some pretty unusual fragments in photographs. Anyway, hope everyone is having a happy end-of-the-week!

Progress Picture #1: Watchful Lion

noreply@blogger.com (Megan Coyle) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 00:44:00 +0000

The sketch for my next animal piece. Whew, I've been working on quite a few of these. Once I'm able to put together about four more of the large-sized animal ones, I'll change gears a bit and get started on a landscape/cityscape series for another upcoming show.

Childhood Memories Exhibit

noreply@blogger.com (Megan Coyle) — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 21:47:00 +0000

My "Girl with Glasses" collage is currently on display in the Del Ray Artisans' "Childhood Memories" group exhibit. The show displays artwork inspired by the artist's childhood. This particular piece is something I made a few years ago and was actually on display at the Smithsonian's Ripley Center back in 2008.

The "Childhood Memories" exhibit opened on April 6th and will run until the 29th.

Tranquil Plains

noreply@blogger.com (Megan Coyle) — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 04:50:00 +0000

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"Tranquil Plains"
Collage on paper
12"x16"

To change things up a bit - since I've been working on so many animal collages - I decided to put together a landscape piece. In the next couple of weeks I should probably get started on a new series of landscape pieces. I have a solo show next year where I'd like to exhibit landscape and cityscape collages of various sights around the DC area. And since landscape isn't an easy subject for me to tackle, because I'm more interested in figures and animals, it will be quite a challenge. Thus I figure it's better to get started early on that project so I can ensure that all the artwork is a consistent quality for the show.

Barn Owl

noreply@blogger.com (Megan Coyle) — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 01:42:00 +0000

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"Barn Owl"
Collage on paper
7"x5"

Above is the finished "Barn Owl" collage. The client gave this piece to her sister (who is expecting) to go in the baby's room. The color scheme I worked with matches the colors used to decorate the room.

Progress Picture #1: Barn Owl

noreply@blogger.com (Megan Coyle) — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 00:26:00 +0000

Here's the sketch I did for a commissioned animal collage. The client wanted a collage of a barn owl using browns, creams, and tans with a red barn in the background. The sketch gives you an idea of the composition, but this little guy changed quite a bit once I started layering the paper. I'll post an image of the completed collage soon

The Curious Penguin

noreply@blogger.com (Megan Coyle) — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 23:11:00 +0000

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"The Curious Penguin"
Collage on paper
16"x12"

It's been a while since the last time I made a penguin collage. This guy was inspired by the Natural History Museum in D.C. I wasn't able to find inspiration from the National Zoo (like I usually do) since we don't have any penguins there. The Natural History Museum has quite a selection of rocks and minerals and of course, taxidermy. And their animal collection has definitely helped me out with quite a few collages. I usually need some sort of point of reference in order to make a work of art. When it comes to exotic animals or even just ordinary animals, their collection helps me out a lot.

My Artwork is Now in a Museum's Permanent Collection

noreply@blogger.com (Megan Coyle) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 23:54:00 +0000

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I'm pleased to announce that two of my collages, "Mallard Duck" and "Flamingo Dancers," have been accepted into the Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art's collection. This is the first time my work has become part of a museum's permanent collection.

The Ward Museum is located on the Eastern Shore in Maryland. It promotes wildfowl art and celebrates the Eastern Shore decoy carvers, Lemuel and Stephen Ward - the artists that the Museum is named after.

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So what does a permanent collection mean?
This means that the museum owns the accepted collages. A permanent collection doesn't mean the work will be on display at all times - it means the artwork is part of the collection curators pull from when designing future exhibits. All museums have changing exhibits where they have a chance to rotate and share the artwork they own.

The two collages will also be in an upcoming exhibit at the Ward Museum called "Subject to Interpretation," which runs from April 13th to July 8th, 2012. And Duck & Fish will be available for sale in their gift shop.

Progress Picture #1: The Curious Penguin

noreply@blogger.com (Megan Coyle) — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 22:46:00 +0000

Here's one of the progress pictures of my latest piece - I'll post the finished collage soon. This little guy was a lot of fun to work on. I think there's just something so expressive about penguins.

Karma Chameleon

noreply@blogger.com (Megan Coyle) — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 22:51:00 +0000

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"Karma Chameleon"
Collage on paper
12"x16"

Here's my first attempt at collaging a chameleon. Next time round I'd like to play even more with the texture of the lizard, and perhaps have some fun with focusing on what chameleons are known for - changing colors. There are all kinds of possibilities...just think of how many unique backgrounds or settings could be used for the chameleon as it tries to blend in.

In other news, last week my solo show in Manassas ended. It was wonderful getting the opportunity to share my work at the Candy Factory, it's just a shame that the time flew by so quickly. I was pleased to see that several collages now have new homes. As great as it is to sell your artwork, sometimes I find myself thinking "Oh no - I hope I can make something just as good to replace the sold work." There's always the worry of having enough consistent and cohesive work to exhibit in upcoming solo shows.

I'm going to be pretty busy working away on artwork for future exhibits this year and next year. After that, I think I'll take a break from exhibiting my work so often so I can focus more time and energy on other projects like short animations or another children's book.

Progress Picture #1: Karma Chameleon

noreply@blogger.com (Megan Coyle) — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 22:20:00 +0000

Here's the sketch for my chameleon collage. While studying chameleons for this piece, I noticed how interesting these creatures really are. They look like mini dinosaurs. So fascinating...

Celebrating Twenty Years in Del Ray

noreply@blogger.com (Megan Coyle) — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 17:37:00 +0000

Yesterday I gallery sat for the Del Ray Artisans. Their current exhibition "XX - Celebrating Twenty Years in Del Ray!" includes a variety of artwork depicting all kinds of subject matter. My "Gorilla" collage is in the exhibit and the picture above shows it hanging in this group show.

And now I'm off to gather inspiration for more animal collages as well as a few landscape/cityscape pieces. I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

The Otter Sisters

noreply@blogger.com (Megan Coyle) — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 03:52:00 +0000

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"The Otter Sisters"
Collage on paper
18"x24"

I have to admit that one of my favorite things about collage is how it's always a surprise how a collage will turn out. Sometimes you can find some pretty interesting textures and patterns in magazines, and when they are cut a certain way - voilà, it all comes together. Other times you can end up with some pretty unsatisfactory results, but all in all, it's an exciting process. I was pleasantly surprised with "The Otter Sisters" - at first I wasn't too sure what to think of it. But after setting it aside for a while, then returning to work on it briefly, I was happy with the mix of texture on the otters and in the background.

Progress Picture #1: The Otter Sisters

noreply@blogger.com (Megan Coyle) — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 18:52:00 +0000

The sketch for another large animal collage - this piece is 18"x24". It's inspired by another trip to the National Zoo, where a couple of otters were staring out at the tourists walking by. And they didn't seem thrilled to get their picture taken.

Hippo's Day Out

noreply@blogger.com (Megan Coyle) — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 02:22:00 +0000

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"Hippo's Day Out"
Collage on paper
18"x24"

This piece was inspired by Happy the Hippo who used to live at the National Zoo. Aside from the meerkats, Happy was one of my favorite animals to visit there. Unfortunately they moved him to Milwaukee Zoo in 2009, although he must be happier there since he's around other hippos. Anyway, the above collage is inspired by the many times I stopped by the zoo and Happy was outside in his pool. He'd hold his breath underwater for several minutes, as impatient tourists would stand by with cameras ready when he'd resurface. Whenever he did resurface, it was only for a few seconds before plunging back down into the water.

I'm currently working away on several new animal collages. And I've also started thinking about taking a break from exhibiting my work in galleries. I'd kinda like to focus on other projects instead of taking on the workload of promoting exhibits...we shall see what I end up doing...

Progress Picture #1: Hippo's Day Out

noreply@blogger.com (Megan Coyle) — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 23:56:00 +0000

Here's another sketch for an animal collage that I'm going to do. I've got quite a few animal collages that will need to be finished and ready for display later on in the year. I'm looking forward to all the upcoming shows, but whew, what a lot of work I have ahead of me...